Sec. Gates moves deliberately on 'don't ask, don't tell'

In a letter to Congress, Gates and Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen say they're sticking to their plan for review. This angers activists and lawmakers pushing for early repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell'.

But his letter to members of Congress Friday immediately angered gay rights advocates who fear the administration isn’t moving fast enough to repeal the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military.

Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pushing for intermediate steps toward repeal, for example, creating a moratorium on discharges under the law. Such efforts concern Democrats like Mr. Skelton who are reluctant or at best on the fence about repeal.

“Our military must be afforded the opportunity to inform us of their concerns, insights and suggestions if we are to carry out this change successfully,” Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote to Skelton.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said his boss does not want Congress to rush to change the law until after more is known about how it would be done and what troops think about it.

“He is vehemently opposed to it,” Mr. Morrell said Saturday, referring to early efforts to change don’t ask, don’t tell.

Although the December timeline for the review hasn’t changed, the Gates letter prompted advocates to question the administration’s commitment to repeal.

“It’s time for the president and commander in chief to speak clearly and frankly on this issue,” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an group advocating for repeal in Washington, in a statement. “The commander in chief sounds like he is deferring to his Defense Secretary, to a House Chairman who opposes him on repeal, and to his political operatives.”

The White House issued a statement Friday evening, saying that the administration’s commitment to repeal is “unequivocal” and that it only wants to ensure that repeal is done right.

There is no consensus within the military on this controversial issue.

While some believe it is likely inevitable under the Obama administration, other senior officers, including Gen. James Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps, believe now is not the right time to repeal the law while the military is immersed in two wars. Conway, who has been the most vocal, is due to retire this fall.

Adm. Mullen, however, has said that repeal is “the right thing to do.”